Flat
by amandark
Summary: The ever-faithful LadyBug gets a flat on the way home. [BanxGinji fluff.]


Flat

Disclaimer: Get Backers under their creators, not me.

The ever-faithful Lady Bug gets a flat on the highway. [BxG fluff.]

_The entertainment value._

The business of repossession. You'd be surprised the potential income those jobs could haul in; it's a fast-paced, exciting show to run, if not a bit dangerous at times. The price people put on their wares, their trinkets and material objects could make a poor man cry, but there's more invested in it than that. The memories these things hold are invaluable.

So the jobs weren't exactly _flowing_ in– it was more like a... trickle. With a few rocks sticking up at odd angles. But that wasn't the point: that's never been the point. Repossession was a job that they could relate to, a job that felt wholesome to them, that satisfied _them_. Not to mention, it seemed to serve as a constant enforcer of their friendship. It kept them together. Of course, it was always a lot easier to praise their job on the drive home.

Ban stared over the rim of his glasses, ignoring the loud smacking of rain against the windshield as he tried to focus on the sound. He checked the gauges on the Bug's dashboard: nothing. Ginji didn't seem to hear it; he was slumped in his seat, staring out the fogged window at redundant, wet scenery. Ban sighed and glared at the road. This was driving him crazy, and he could _feel_ it now, too. He frowned, opening his mouth with the intention of stating his final deduction: the air was low.

It was the kind of coincidence that makes you stare ahead in numb disbelief that made him shut his mouth without uttering a word. The resounding crack of what could easily have been a gunshot erupted from his left, and the car gave a sharp jerk in that direction. Ginji yelped in fearful surprise and Ban growled a curse as he fought with the steering to pull over. It wasn't any big feat, really; the highway was abandoned to begin with, and was hardly a stretch to stall the Bug off to the road's side.

"Ban-chan?" Ginji's voice was thick with distressed worry, but Ban just waved off the blonde and opened the door with a hard shove. He stalked to his partner's side of the car, but didn't let the boy out. Instead, he knelt down and inspected the front tire. Not that it took much to decipher the problem; it was nothing but deflated rubber now. "That's just great." He muttered through a breath of contempt. He stood and leaned against his partner's door, the rain soaking through his clothes and running his hair limp. It was cold, but he didn't want to get back in the car with such a put-out temper; he was afraid of snapping at Ginji, when the idiot only meant well. That electric eel had a way of making him feel so guilty sometimes.

The rain was helping in that aspect though; he was steadily calming, and by the time Ginji started tapping excitedly at the window, Ban felt considerably lighter– as far as his mood was concerned. Brows raised as he turned around to see what his friend wanted, staring at the finger-drawn devil-wheel on the fogged window. It took him a moment of looking at the horn-and-prong-wielding tire and Ginji's beaming face to discard the last fraction of irritation, and he gave a soft chuckle.

Ban returned to the driver's side of the car, pausing to look down both lengths of the road, hoping against hope that a tow truck would come barreling through the rain, and the guy would be feeling generous enough to give them a lift; free of charge. Of course, he had no such luck to speak of, and the road was lonely and empty, aside from the rain pummeling its back.

He slid back into his seat with a sigh, pulling the door shut. He provoked his own slouching posture, resting his head against the worn high-back of his seat, staring through the closed sunroof. Ginji's giggle attracted his gaze.

"Look, Ban-chan! Look, see?" The animated blonde was sitting at the edge of his own seat, leaning over the dashboard and addressing the new drawing on their windshield. By the look, Ginji had decided any glass surface on the car within his reach was now his canvas. "It's us!" He proclaimed, presenting a silly image to his friend, which was apparently Ginji's depiction of them.

In truth, Ginji's artistic hand wasn't the best around, but Ban smiled anyway and nodded, watching his friend more than he was paying the picture any mind. "Listen Ginji; we got a flat, so we might be here a while. Just keep an ear out for another car or something." Ginji simply nodded and continued on to attack the next portion of fogged windshield with his finger, and he was well into his next doodle when something struck him. "But Ban-chan, what about the phones? Can't we call someone?"

This struck the man by surprise. He'd been too caught up in watching his friend explore his artistic side, that he'd forgotten about their cellphones. The thought brought a frown to his lips, and by the time he realized it was there, he wasn't quite sure he wanted to leave just yet. As much trouble as that damn tire was going to cost them, it was actually kind of nice to just sit back for a while; out of town under the droning lull of fat droplets against the car, musing over his partner. "Yeah.. but I–" Ban's reply was interrupted by a sudden squeek of Ginji's fretful sentiments.

"Ban-chan! You're soaked!"

Ban shrugged, glancing to his friend to be met with large, worried brown hues.

"I'm fine."

"Ne, you'll get sick!"

"No I won't, Ginji. I'll be fine."

"Ban-chan! You'll get a cold!"

"A cold won't kill m–"

"BAN-CHAN!"

If Ban didn't know any better, he'd say Ginji almost sounded offended by his protest. They stared at each other, Ban peering over the rim of purple glasses and Ginji watching him with wide, beautiful, tearfully anxious eyes. Ban huffed a sigh. "_Alright,_ alright!"

The ex-thunder emperor swelled with relief and a protective kind of gratitude, swallowing his brunette partner in a great hug. "Thank you Ban-chan! I know you'll feel a whole lot better when you're warm and dry." Ginji babbled, tugging at Ban's sleeve, insisting he take off the wet shirt. And to tell the truth, Ban was too attracted to the idea of 'warm and dry and Ginji' to protest.

As Ban struggled with shedding the clingy fabric of his shirt, Ginji scoured the Bug's backseat, momentarily wedged between both the driver and passenger chairs, looking for a blanket. It was actually a very logical thing to do, considering how much the two ended up sleeping in the car anyway, there was likely to be a blanket leftover from the past weeks.

"Bingo!" Ginji chirped and snatched up the bundled coverlet, wriggling back into his own seat only to pluck the soaked shirt from his friend's (finally free) grasp and drop it in the back–for safe keeping! He smiled brightly and paraded his triumphant find before working on wrapping his partner in the blanket. Ban knew better than to complain, and just let Ginji do as he saw fit; relaxing and choosing to enjoy the pampering. It was cute, he thought, the way Ginji fussed over him like this; Ban severely doubted he deserved any of it, but he appreciated the way the blonde would affectionately tug at a fold to make sure the blanket was wrapped snugly enough.

"There! Better, ne?"

Ban couldn't very well disagree– he had to admit, it was much warmer and comfortable than his shirt had been, but that didn't mean he had to admit defeat so easily. "It's not bad. My shirt would have dried out eventually, though."

Ginji just smiled at him and settled back into his own seat.

Long minutes passed without either friend saying anything more. Ban closed his eyes after a while and Ginji had sacrificed his devil-tire in favor of looking out the window. It was quiet, but it wasn't awkward. It was a comfortable kind of silence between them, something the both of them enjoyed a bit every now and then; it was peaceful.

Ginji sneezed.

Ban twitched and broke from his near-slumber daze, peering over at his friend from under raised brows. He doubted Ginji was very cold, but he thought he'd use that theory to his own odd kind of advantage anyway.

"Oi, Ginji." He shifted somewhat and opened his arms; he ignored the noticeable lack of heat as the blanket parted temporarily due to his invitation. Without even an instant of hesitation, the blonde sniffed and managed to crawl into Ban's lap, his legs propped on the seat he'd just abandoned. Ban grinned and hooked his arms around his partner, wrapping both of them in the blanket.

And it was so natural when Ban kissed him. A chaste pressing of lips to lips. Brief, but good.

"Ban-chan." Ginji exhaled a soft sigh, vivid brown hues looking half-lidded into a gently hooded blue. The man in question didn't reply; an easy understanding that Ginji wasn't looking for conversation. Responding to his own voice, Ginji reached and didn't ask to remove his parnter's glasses; he plucked them from their perch on Ban's nose without explanation, holding them with a ginger affection, and kissed him again.


End file.
